Whiting: Obesity a head game for many

Placentia school teacher Terah Atwell, 35, shows off a photo of herself and her sister Tiffany Davenport, right, completing the Disney 5-K race in 2011. Atwell has lost more than 60 pounds and has worked up to running half-marathons, feeling great along the way. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Sitting on a couch with a teacher who has seen her weight balloon to more than 200 pounds – twice – I ask if the American Medical Association recent classification of obesity as a disease makes sense.

Terah Atwell already has shared much with me about what she calls her life-long struggle with weight. She paid extra for her high school choir gown, dropped out of hikes in her 20s, a few years ago was too embarrassed to go to Weight Watchers.

She pauses. There are several things that trouble Atwell, 35, about my question. The first is the use of "obese," an ugly word. We agree "overweight" is better. But I later discover that the Body Mass Index has a very precise definition of overweight.

At 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds – OK, 184 – I'm not obese but I am classified as overweight. Darn those cookies.

Atwell – her running medals in a nearby room – launches into a long and thoughtful answer about the AMA's ruling. Her answer surprises, and much of it has to do with personal responsibility.

• • •

Atwell, a fifth grade teacher at Trinity Lutheran Christian School in Anaheim, grew up in Montrose, a town of 15,000 in western Colorado. Her family ate like most American families, sometimes healthfully, sometimes not so much.

Atwell's sister was athletic and slim. Atwell gravitated toward theater and music. A strong singer, she knew by sixth grade she wanted to attend Hope International University in Fullerton for its acting and music program.

But Atwell also realized something else in sixth grade. She was heavier than most of her classmates. By her junior year of college, Atwell had gained more weight, much of it in her chest. Suffering from back pain, she opted for a breast reduction.

The insurance company approved the procedure – so long as she lost weight. As with many people who hope to shed pounds, it would turn out to be Atwell's first of many so-called "new starts" at Weight Watchers.

At 204 pounds and 5-foot-7, Atwell walked two miles to the Weight Watchers class. Within six months, she dropped 50 pounds and had the surgery – something she calls the best thing she's ever done.

I mention a breast reduction sounds out of place in a county known for implants. Atwell smiles, but she also knows the very real pain that comes with a heavy chest, straps cutting into shoulders, certain activities difficult if not impossible.

"I see these teeny, tiny girls at the gym with huge breasts," Atwell says, shaking her head at the problems these women may have to deal with in the future. In some cases, the surgically endowed will have similar problems that heavy people face.

• • •

Just days after the AMA ruling, actor James Gandolfini, famous for his weighty role in the "Sopranos," died from a heart attack. In a way, Gandolfini's death seemed like a grim example of the AMA's announcement.

Placentia school teacher Terah Atwell, 35, shows off a photo of herself and her sister Tiffany Davenport, right, completing the Disney 5-K race in 2011. Atwell has lost more than 60 pounds and has worked up to running half-marathons, feeling great along the way. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Terah Atwell, 35, stretches before going on a run in her Placentia neighborhood. The school teacher has lost more than 60 pounds and has worked up to running half-marathons. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Placentia school teacher Terah Atwell, 35, shows off a medal for completing her first half-marathon in Jan 2013. She ran the race along with her dad Bill Atwell, a veteran runner, to inspire her. She has lost more than 60 pounds. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Terah Atwell, 35, goes on a run in her Placentia neighborhood. The school teacher has lost more than 60 pounds and has worked up to running half-marathons. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Placentia school teacher Terah Atwell, 35, pauses for a drink while running in her neighborhood. She has run two half-marathons. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Terah Atwell shows race numbers and medallions from the races she has completed as she shed more than 60 pounds. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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